The special election to fill the House seat of the late Pennsylvania Democrat John Murtha will pit a candidate who fully embraces Murtha's legacy against a Republican political newcomer who's aiming to nationalize the election.

Pennsylvania Republicans anointed businessman Tim Burns on Thursday as their candidate to face Murtha's former district director, Mark Critz, in the May 18 election. Burns has been running on a down-the-line conservative platform of opposition to the stimulus, health care legislation and government spending.

Critz, on the other hand, has touted his close relationship with Murtha as a prime selling point of his candidacy, arguing that he's best equipped to keep bringing federal dollars back to the economically unsteady southwest Pennsylvania district.

The race will be among the most closely watched in the country, giving Republicans an early opening to follow up their victory in the Massachusetts Senate election by snatching the seat of a Democratic leader who held the district since the last days of the Johnson administration.

Burns, who has billed the race as "a choice between a bureaucrat and a businessman," has the wealth to fund at least part of his own campaign – a major attraction for the Republicans who tapped him as their candidate. And on paper, the district looks like a ripe GOP target: it was the only one in the country that flipped from supporting the Democratic presidential ticket in 2004 to backing the Republican in 2008.

"This is a national race. Not only will there be significant support in the district, but there will be significant support in the state," said Burns consultant John Brabender. "Fundraising on both sides won't be that difficult of a task. Burns can put in his own funds, but he's also a strong believer that this race has to be about other people joining him."